Playing for Keeps
by Aloria Von
Summary: This is the stories of two teens who have only ever met once. Cedric is lusted after by a rather perverted secret admirer. Leila is caught in an unwanted romance with a boy she doesn't love. Blind, unrequited, or just plain unmentionable, love suck CD/OC
1. Playling for Keeps

"Where are we going?" Leila groaned as she stumbled through the dark. She watched Draco's silhouette, cast against the filmy blue light he carried, as he marched along determinedly a few steps ahead of her. He had lit the tip of his wand and it served, now, as their only real source of light. The sky was congested with grey-black clouds which lingered still from the storm that had so mercilessly ruined the day before.

"If I told you, there wouldn't be any point in going." He hissed and laughed once.

Leila sighed and glanced behind them. As late as it was the castle's windows had all long gone dark, it loomed over them as they stole away into the dark. Leila could feel it's disapproving glare on her back, she hated sneaking out. It wasn't as though she exactly had a choice, though – Draco's will was law. If he said jump the whole world would obey.

Still, anxiety shook her. The note in the pocket of her sweat jacket burned, impatiently awaiting its delivery. Leila ran her finger back and forth over a corner, silently willing Draco to be done with whatever it was that he was wanting to do.

"Alright, here. Stop here." Draco commanded suddenly

The chosen spot seemed unremarkable and modest. There weren't any landmarks which really stood out. The night swallowed all but the outlines of the plain little meadow. The surrounding trees were identical to all the others which engulfed the grounds. It was nothing special, but still, Draco stood smiling in front of her. he put out his wand and in the same moment the very air seemed to vibrate and hum as a blue glow arose from the Earth. Miniature globes of light floated blissfully about. Leila was awestruck at the sight. It was as though he'd somehow brought the stars down for her. she grinned and watched as a cluster of the globes drifted between them.

"I love you, Leila. From now on, I don't want anyone else to have you." Draco said, his voice low and smooth. He took her by her shoulder and hip and pulled her into a kiss.  
Draco always got his way.

***

_I like your hair today. It looks incredibly sexy. You're going to start affecting my studies. All I can think about is pinning you to a wall or dragging you off to my room and doing things to you that would make you never able to look into your mother's eyes again!  
__Lustfully loving,__  
Secret_

"Dear God, if you don't want this girl I would be more than glad to take her!" Liam laughed. His eyes nearly popped from his head as he read the note

I glared at him and snatched the parchment away. He was the only person I had told about the series of secret admirer notes I had been receiving. He was the type of guy to accept things like that and I know he would keep his word if he told me it would stay between us. I didn't want the whole school knowing about this girl. Liam had already proved his loyalty, anyways.

"Whose to say I don't want her?" I grunted, "She's probably insane, you know? She won't even tell me her name."  
"Would you say who you were? She's being braver than anyone one else I know. You expect her to be even braver and tell you who she is? You expect her to take the risk that you might tell everyone everything she says?" Liam practically shouted. I hadn't expected him to be so upset with my comment.

The truth was that I desperately wanted to meet the girl who was open and inventive enough to tell her thoughts in such a…provocative note. The truth was I envied that sincerity. The truth was I wanted her madly.

"What'll you do if it turns out she's a guy?" Liam chuckled evilly  
"I'll tell him that he seems very nice, but I'm not interested in guys. I'll turn him down gently just like I do with girls who ask me out." I shrugged plainly. Liam had asked me this same thing only a week before and he had asked it after I showed him the first note as well.  
"What if she's the most beautiful girl you've ever seen?" Liam paused and created an hour glass shape with his hands on the air and even threw in a sultry little wink.  
"That's pretty obvious, isn't it? I'm not an idiot." I laughed and gave him a shove forward.

We picked up our pace, racing and shoving and tripping each other on our way to our common room.

Three hours later I sat on the floor with my back against my bed, the note lay open in my lap. I ran my hands up and down my thighs and drummed my fingers on my knees. I had been sending the perverse messages back and forth with _Secret_ for a little over a month. For a week or so, she had made sure to send me at least one every day. I was beginning to think I might really get to meet her, soon.

***

Weeks passed aimlessly.

Draco's hand was soft and warm on Jamie's. He had a women's hands, but as the only son of the Malfoys you couldn't blame him. She never would have told him she thought this because she knew how he would react. Draco was often a little too sensitive to what people said.

They were sitting in a hall just outside the dungeons with Draco's oddly omnipresent fan club standing around us, gawking. He never actually told any of them that they were a couple – at least not while Jamie was around – it seemed his habit of pulling her into kisses at random intervals was enough of a declaration for them. They had never really liked her before, but when Draco tangled his fingers into hers it flipped a switch that turned her into some sort of queen. Silently, she wondered what they would do when Draco tired of her and she was demoted or maybe even abandoned.

"Leila, we're going to get some butterbeer later. Just us." Draco told her, though it seemed obvious that he was telling the others, as well.

She leaned her head on his shoulder and nodded. She was nearly a head shorter than him and enjoyed the difference. She seemed so small, or rather he seemed so large, it made her feel secure and protected. It was the only thing about Draco that felt safe.

***

_I'm starting to fall for you, I think. I'm always thinking about you. I'm dying to know you in person. You seem so wonderful. I don't know what to do with myself. This feeling is insane.  
__Love,  
__Cedric_

I read and reread the short letter and frustration burned an angry torrent in me. I bit the inside of my cheek and crumple the parchment. How can you tell someone you've never met that they are the most amazing person you know? Is it even possible to be in love with someone you haven't met? My mysterious little Secret was entirely brilliant.

I pulled out the box I had been using to keep her notes in and rifled through them. We head recently spent our time and spare parchment learning about each other.

I asked what house she was in at least five times before she gave in and told me she was a Ravenclaw.

When she asked why I liked Quittich so much, I told her how I loved the freedom of flying and how my dad thought my knack for it was going to be my glory. I didn't even tell Liam that much.

I asked if I had met her. She told me I had only spoken to her once before.

She wanted to know what I would change about my life if I could change anything. No one had ever asked that before. I told her that I want, more than anything, to feel as though I am more than just a trophy. She said she thought I was everything.

I had a few guesses at who Secret really was, but not a single one of them seemed to fit. I found myself watching the Ravenclaw girls during classes and glancing up every time I passed their colors. I imagined I would catch her writing a note one day. 'What's this?' 'Oh no!' 'So, you're Secret, huh?' 'Are you mad?' 'No. I am absolutely not mad.' I want you. God, I wanted her.

I plodded through Hogsmeade with a mood sour enough to infest Honeydukes entire stock with mold and age. I could hear a group of kids barking up a storm inside the three broomsticks. Just as I was passing the door flew open and the crowd burst out in front of me.

One stood out in particular attention. He was a third year who happened to be the seeker on the Slytherin team; Lucius Malfoy's son. At that moment he was drooling all over some poor girl who looked reluctant to be in his arms.

"Diggory! Look, Malfoy, it's Hufflepuff's seeker!" a boy standing near Malfoy yelled louder than he needed to

Malfoy seemed annoyed with the interruption while the girl whipped around to stare at me so fast she should have gotten whiplash. She was uniquely pretty, with a kind face and a long dark braid hanging over her shoulder. I wondered what any girl would want with a Malfoy.

"What are you doing alone, Diggory? Where's your team?" Malfoy snapped  
I sighed to myself and shoved my hands into my pockets, "I don't need to have a bunch of people backing me up. I'm just taking a walk."  
Malfoy ran a hand over the side of his hair, the pale blonde strands didn't need to be slicked down anymore than they already were. "Maybe your friends just got tried of you." He quipped and coiled his arm around the girl again. She was still staring at me. I couldn't understand her expression, but it unnerved me.  
"At least I don't have to buy my friends." I called  
That seemed to strike a chord. The boy moved as though for his wand and I set to take mine. The girl flinched and grabbed at Malfoy's arm.  
"Draco, love, he's an idiot. You would let him riled?" she cooed, her voice was soft and feminine compared to her wretchedly pubescent counterpart. "C'mon, you said we could be alone today."

Malfoy glared venomously at me, glanced at the girl and turned. He shouted over his shoulder for his little pack of followers to leave him and the girl be. What would a girl like that want with Slytherin? Why would she want a Malfoy?

I went back to Hogwarts after that. My mood ruined to the point I didn't even want to be outside. As soon as I reached my room I spotted the note waiting for me on my bed.

_I saw you in Hogsmeade just now. You're not the type to get in fights. You should keep your distance from Malfoy. He doesn't like people who go against his way. Slytherins are a nasty bunch.  
__Lustfully loving,  
__Secret_

My spoiled mood brightened immediately with the words.

_Are you worrying about me, then? It's alright, I can handle myself. What were you in Hogsmeade for?  
__Love,  
__Cedric_

I waited impatiently for her return. The room seemed too big and too empty in times of waiting. I was really too hopeless.


	2. Hope for the Hopeless

_Of course, I'm worried about you. I mean everything I say. I really like you a lot. Please, take my word for it Draco Malfoy is bad news.  
__Lustfully loving,  
__Secret_

My chest tightened uncomfortably. This girl was all to amazingly brave. Just reading the words made me want to be brave too.

_I want to meet you. You're amazing. Everyday you're all I can think about. I'm stuck waiting for your letters all the time.  
__Love,  
__Cedric_

I folded the note up the way it had come and as soon as it was shut, it vanished just like they all did. It really was an ingenious spell she used. I had tried many times to track her letters but it seemed impossible. I wondered if she had invented it or if she was just a bookworm.

She took forever to respond. I worked on some Ancient Ruins work while I waited. I couldn't say it really took my mind off the time. If anyone else had come into the room then I might have been mistaken to be undergoing a nervous breakdown.

Finally, twenty minutes later her note fell onto my papers in front of me. Suddenly my palms were a pair of running faucets. I attempted futilely to calm myself, saying it was just another note among the many.

_Finder's keepers, Sweetheart.  
__Lustfully loving,  
__Secret_

I stared at the words. Her handwriting was something remarkable, it was not fine but it wasn't a scrawl and it had an unmistakable personality to it. I couldn't make sense of the words despite the easy readability of her writing.

What did she mean finder's keepers? Finder and keeper of what? Could I meet her? Was she only playing with me? Did she take this all as sincerely as I was?

I couldn't think of anything to say after that. I could barely think of anything else, but nothing seemed right to tell her. All that was left to do, as it was starting to get late, was sleep.

***

Leila curled against Draco as they walked. She wasn't one for cold weather. Her arms quivered a little and she wrapped them around his. He smirked at her and pecked the top of her head. It always astounded Leila the difference between the Draco Malfoy whose only joy was to rule over crowds of followers and the Draco who only ever wanted to lay in her arms.

She couldn't deny him that. No matter how much she disliked the Malfoy part of him, she saw the good in Draco. She had always seen the good in Draco. He was her first friend at Hogwarts – her first friend at all outside of her family. He meant more to her than nearly everything else, despite how wretched he could be at times.

In all honesty, if he were anyone else, Leila would hate him. The things he did, the way he acted as though everyone was below him, his horrible way of treating people – all these things pretty much disgusted her. With Draco it was hard to say no. He knew just what to do to hurt people, but he also knew just how to get Leila to feel for him. She was his doll, and she knew it.

"I really hate it when you act like that." She told him  
"I can't stand people like Diggory. He's the same as Potter." Draco hissed  
"He wasn't doing anything." Leila dropped her voice, trying to soothe him, "But it's over now, I guess. We finally got away from everyone, so where should we go? Honeydukes?"  
"I don't want to go shopping. I just want to be with you. It's impossible to be alone at school, that's why I thought we could if we came out here." He said, his eyes rolling as though that had been obvious.  
Leila smiled, "Did you know, Draco Malfoy, that you are incredibly sweet?" Stretching on her toes, she reached up and pulled him into a kiss.  
"You just happen to catch me on a good day." He smirked

It was true, Leila thought, it was only because he was in a good mood. He would be ranting, even then, about how despicable or idiotic Cedric Diggory was if he was feeling so cheerful. He could go on for days with his tirades on Harry Potter and those two friends of his. Leila decided to do her best to keep him happy.

She pulled him down into a snow bank laughing only to get an annoyed scowl. She was about to apologize when, out of nowhere he launched a heap of snow in her face. She stared dazedly at him, until her wits came back to her at the sight of his wide grin.

She rolled away and balled up a lump of snow to throw back at him. They dashed around trees and rocks, tossing snowballs back and forth. He slipped behind a line of nearly bare bushes to sneak up behind her. She squealed in surprise when he wrapped his arms around her and tackled her into the snow.

A flurry of tiny lakes fell around them. Draco smiled and kissed her. His eyes looked warmer than usual and seemed to be filled with a gentle spark of enjoyment. Like this, Leila could even say she loved him.

She reached up and stroked his pale hair, wishing he would stay this way but knowing he wouldn't. He would return to the spiteful, sneering, mean-spirited bully he portrayed in public as soon as they were in front of people again.


End file.
